WIMA Christmas Party 2004

26 - 28 November

Friday

Been organised types this years party is again in a youth hostel hired for the weekend all to ourselves. Lindsey has gone down to the Scarborough YHA during the afternoon with me scheduled to follow after work. By the time I get out though it's dark and bloody cold - so sod that for a lark, I'll ride down tomorrow.

YHA, not a bad place at all.

Saturday

The weather is fine and mild so sometime shortly after lunch I load up the bike with overnight stuff and set off. I take the entertaining route via Stokesley and Helmsley, stopping off at Helmsley for a coffee and chat with whoever else is about. 

By the time I land at Scarborough it's getting cold and I'm starting to loose the light. Can I find the place? Can I hell! I ride up and down the same road umpteen times, take a detour round a farmyard (no sign of WIMA type activity there even though multimap tells me that's where it is).

I'm just about to give up hope so decide to ride into Scarborough to see if I can find a clue when I see out of the corner of my eye a couple of bikes parked down near the river. Bingo. Mission accomplished. A quick change of direction and I'm outside the YHA. Nice looking place, pub within 100m more within 10mins walk the other way and suitably out of the way so we won't get hassled about noise.

Only one other guy there, Steve, and more wima's than you know what to do with. Beer is drunk, music is played, the hotel is visited for food and more beer and so forth into another drunken night.

WIMAs doing what they do best. Eating.

Some points of the evening justify reporting though in their own right. So ladiezzz and gentleman in no particular order whatsoever let me present:-

• Jenga. A simple game for simple souls. It all started out quiet innocuously but as blood-alcohol levels increased so did the game. How high can you stack the block? How many can then be removed from such a fragile structure? OK it sounds naff and boring but it held a weird fascination for me - possibly helped by...
• Vodka Jelly Babies. A frighteningly simple recipe. Take a large box of jelly babies, marinate in vodka and leave in the fridge overnight. The first tastes utterly disgusting. So does the second and third but after that you don't care. And when mixed with jenga as booby prizes...
• Vodka banana. A new and utterly hopeless idea. Once all the jelly babies have gone there is a liquid sediment that consists mostly of vodka, slice a slightly aged banana and marinate in this mess. Again the taste is best described as indescribable.

Sunday

I have that virus again! Still nothing for it but to struggle on and consume plenty of coffee and then prepare to set of home. It's about this time the rain gets into it's stride and the gales start. Oh what joy!

The Evidence for the prosecution.

Jan and very silly hat.
Granny Sue slumped in a drunken stupor in the background.

Steve goes for a jelly baby

Note the look of pleasantly intoxicated incomprehension.
Also note the open jar of jelly babies.
the two are not unconnected.

Yaka, yaka, yaka.

Jenga build

And still it grows

And then, like a drunk at closing time, gravity takes it's toll.